Peace

I'm looking for peace.  Have you seen any?  I heard there was a sale on the 15 oz can at the local grocery store, but then I read that something in the attempted preservation makes the peace evaporate and go sour.  I'm anxious to find some.

As I'm typing, none of the kids have done their chores.  The twins are at the counter, backwashing in their hot chocolate.  One of them will spill any moment now, I'm sure.  Angel is moping around, wrapped in her favorite quilt, complaining in a very whiny voice about how there is a hole that goes "clear through."  What do you expect of a blanket that gets dragged everywhere?  David and Eddie are reading library books instead of doing their homework.  I don't see Chris or Ben, which probably means that they are doing thoroughly unproductive things on their personal distraction devices.  Alec and Trent are gone at work, like always.  And me?  I'm writing when I should be doing a thousand other things.  There's a load of laundry begging for attention.  The box of wooden blocks just got upset all over the living room floor, waiting to trip me up as I dash across the room barefoot.  I still haven't ordered new checks.  I forgot to get the main item for dinner when I was at the store.  I need to make dental checkup appointments.  My own bedroom is a disaster.  The family budget needs a tuneup.  I'm teaching a lesson in church on Sunday and I'm not as far on the text as I would like to be.  And the taxes!  Always, always a million things to do and hardly the energy to think about them, let alone get things done.

And where is a gal supposed to find peace in all this?

It's here.  Right here.

It's all in the way you look at things, and what you decide to put in your heart.  People can feel uneasy and have fighting thoughts when there is no outer conflict.  Others can have calmness and a deep serenity even in the middle of war.  Jesus was called the Prince of Peace, even though he didn't do anything to alleviate the political oppression of his people at the time.  But he taught them how to find peace in their hearts.

So, amid all the unfinished chores and heavy responsibilities, I can find my peace.  The winter sun is slanting into the room through handprinted windows, filling warm puddles on the floor where David lays, reading a book.  Eddie is generously sharing his pretzels with Freddie.  Angel dances with her blanket, wrapping herself in the warmth and love of a quilt handmade by her cherished grandmother.  Georgie climbs into my lap, content to snuggle for a few minutes before dashing off to some new adventure.  Ben bends his curly red head over his iPod, concentrating on his homework, focused on maintaining his GPA.  Chris gives me a wide teen-aged grin as I walk past, lighting up my mother heart.

It's a beautiful day.  It's a beautiful life I have here with this family.  And my heart fills with peace.